Lifting truck



W. STUEBING, JR

LIFTING TRUCK Original Filed Jan. 17, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 i v (June/aim Z/gz. 35 A @lbtomeng 4,4017 MMMVMV- July 31, 1934.

w. STUEBING, JR 1,968,659

LIFTING TRUCK Original Filed Jan. 17, 1928 S Sheets-Sheet 2 A22 aw x 1934. w. STUEBING, JR 1,968,659

, LIFTING TRUCK Original Filed Jan. 17, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented July 31, 1934 FIlCEJ 1. l William Stuebin g, Jr.,-Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor,- .-by 'mesne assignments, to TheYale & Towne .Manufacturing, Company, Stamford. Conn, a.

corporation of Connecticut January 17, 1928, Serial No. 247,299 Renewed'June 10, 1931 i 13 Claims. (01. 254 -2) Application yide an improved lifting truck.

This invention relates to lifting trucks of the type in-which the steering anddraft lever is operative to liftthe load. I

It is an objectof the invention t'o provide improved lifting mechanism and generally to. prof 'iOther objects and advantages willappear hereinafter. .Q A preferred embodiment of the invention seleoted for, purposes of illustration is shown. in. the accompanying drawings, inwhich, v f lligure -1 is a side" elevation of a lifting truck showing the elevating frame in raised position at the end of the lifting operation.

of the invention j Figure'Z is a side elevation showing the elevatf ingfr ame in its lowered position. Figure 3 is afront elevation with frame inlowered' posi'tion. v V v A Figure .4 is a similar view, the steeringlever being turned to one side, certain parts. being broken away to better illustrate the construction andoperation. a ,Figure 5is a top plan view, i

1 Figure 6 is aside elevation the elevating frame being in lowered position with the parts in engagement for the lifting operation, and ,F igure {I is a, fragmentary view. in vertical section illustrating. the plunger construction and t l ft ng assembly.. o U 3 r Referring to the drawings, the truck comprises a main frame -5 and an elevating frame 6.. Asteering head 7 is rotatably mounted in a transverse yoke 8 forming part of the main frama the said yoke being rigidly connected. to side bars 9 of the main frame by means of bolts if), as illustrated. in 9 Figures 3 and i. A roller bearing 11- arranged to sustain both the thrust and lateral stress is preferably arranged between the swivel steering head and the yoke of the frame. The forwardend of the elevating frame is. preferably connected. to the main frame by means of links l2 which may be pivotally connected to the mainframe andto the elevating frame by. means of bolts or other suitable pivot members 13 and. 14 respectively. .The rear end of the. elevating frame may be similarly. supported by. links ;(not shown) which are parallel to the links 12 and similarly pivoted to the main and felevatingframes. For purposes of raising the elevating frame to lift the 'loadsuitable con-,- nections are provided between "thet elevating frame and-the steering and draft lever; These connections may comprise a yoke;l5- extending transversely across theframe, the said yolre being provided with depending. arms 15! whi h e8:-

tend. downwardly for pivotal connection with the arms 16' which are preferably formed in-v tegrally with the supporting links 12. As will be observed, the provision of the arms 16 enables the connection between the yoke 15 and the links 12 to be madeatp ointsiwhich are separated substantially from the lines connecting the pivot members 13 and 14 in order that the efiective leverage about the pivot 13 may not be too much reduced as the elevating frame rises. u

. Thesteering head 7 is preferably provided with a. fork '18 upon which the steering lever 19 is pivotally mounted at 20. Preferably the lower end ofthe steering lever is provided with a downwardly and rearwardly extending lifting member terminating in a ball2l adapted to operatively engage the yoke 15 as hereinafter described for lifting p rposes.v The yoke. 15 is preferably provided-with a forwardly extending member 24 carrying a block 25 having a transverse groove 26 formed therein. As will be observed; the yoke 15 is movable on the pivot' lfi to a position such that the groove 26 lies immediately above the ball 21 when the handle 19.is in vertical position as illustrated. inl igurefi. Thus, ifthe, steering lever 19 is swung from the. vertical. position illustrated in Figure 6110 the-position illustrated in Figure 1 the elevating: frame. will be raised in. the manner-indicated. ;Furthermore,. due to the sliding connection which is provided between the ball 21 and the groove 26, itvwill be observedthat; the steering lever is operative in all steering positions to elevate the elevating frame, thus providing what is termed intheart' a sidelift truck. .When the steering lever is operated in a position to eitherr sideeof, its-normal central position, the ball 21 slides in thegroove 26 as the ball 21 moves outside of the steering axis ofthe truck during its upward motion.

. The downward movement of the steering lever may be limited byengagement of a lug 28 on one side of the steering handle with a lug 29 carried on the steering head. l If desired,;the yoke,15 may be swung forwardly byhandlfor engagement with the ball 21 when it is desired'to makeaa lifting connection. As this is sometimes inconvenient, however, means are providedby which. the operative connection may be made vviththe foot, a foot lever 34 being provided forthis: purpose, Preferably the lever 34Mmay m5 serve a double. function, namely, to cause opera tive connectiontobe made when the elevating frame is in its lowermostposition so that the said frame maybe raised, and also to release the elevating]frameqwherrthe frame isin elevated no position to permit the same to return to its lowermost position. Accordingly, for purposes of making operative connection, the lever 34 is connected to the yoke 15 by means of the link 38 having a slot 39 therein to form a lost motion connection with the yoke 15. Thus, referring to Figure 2, if the lever 34 is depressed, yoke 15 will be swung forwardly to a position to enable it to be engaged by the ball 21, assuming that the steering lever 19 is swung to vertical position...

In order to retain the elevating frame in raised position the transverse member 36 of the elevating frame is provided with a hook 35 which is positioned to engage the hook 37 formed in the rear end of the lever 34 when the elevating frame is in raised position. As will be observed, when the elevating frame is thus engaged, depression of the lever 34 will release the hooks and permit the elevating frame to descend.

The weight of the yoke 15 may be distributed relative to its pivotal connection to the elevating frame in any desired manner depending upon the method of operation which is preferred. In the truck illustrated the yoke is so balanced that when it is in its rearward position as illustrated in Figure 2, its center of gravity is to the rear of the pivot and the yoke tends to remain in rearward position, but when the link is moved forward into engaging position, the center of gravity is forward of the point of pivotal connection so that the link tends to remain in forward position. This tendency of the link to remain in engaging position when once placed there eliminates the so-called whipping handle, that is to say, the free downward movement of the handle following the accidental release of the ball 21 from operative engagement with the yoke 15.

If desired, means may be provided to cause the yoke 15 to be pushed back away from the steering handle automatically when the operative connection is broken after the lifting operation. That is to say, upon a slight backward movement of the handle after lifting the load, the yoke 15 may be caused to automatically move to such position that it cannot thereafter be engaged by the lifting member. Such an arrangement is shown in Figures 5 and '7 wherein a spring plunger 45 is maintained in a suitable boss 46 carried on the yoke 8 in position to engage an opposed boss 4'7 on the yoke 15 when the said link is in elevated position. Inasmuch as the spring plunger is positioned to engage the yoke 15 only when in its uppermost position, it will not interfere with the continued engagement of the yoke with the lifting member at the beginning of the lifting operation, but after the load is raised and the connection is broken, the yoke will be pushed rearwardly to avoid any possibility of accidental connection with the lifting member.

The arrangement above described avoids the so-called flying handle which sometimes results from accidental lowering of the lever. Normally, as previously described, the yoke 15 is pushed rearwardly to a position such that the handle may not be engaged whether the elevating platform is caused to descend accidentally or purposely. Even if the plunger mechanism should fail to operate, however, or if it should be omitted from the truck, as it may be in some cases, the flying handle is avoided, because if thelock holding the elevating frame in raised position is dropped, the first part of the movement of the yoke 15 is backward rather than downward so that the groove 26 moves rearwardly out of engagement with the lifting member 21. Furthermore,

in practice, the yoke 15 tends to swing back as the elevating frame descends, due in part to the friction in the pivot 16 and in part to the inertia of the moving parts.

' If desired, the steering lever 19 may be supported by a spring 42 connected to the swivel steering head and to the lever, the spring being so adjusted as to retain the steering lever in 'vertical position and to support a part or all of the weight of the steering lever when in use.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lifting truck comprising a main frame, an elevating frame carried thereby, a vertically swinging steering lever, a link operably connected to the elevating frame and pivotally mounted to swing into and out of engagement with the steering lever, the link and steering lever being formed to provide a ball and groove joint at the point of interengagement, said groove being extended transversely whereby engagement may be maintained in different steering positions of the steering lever.

2. A lifting truck comprising a main frame having a steering head, an elevating frame mounted thereon, a steering lever pivoted to the steering head at a point forward of the axis of rotation of said steering head and having a rearwardly projecting end movable vertically, and a link operatively connected to the elevating frame movable independently of said steering lever, and having a transversely extending groove positioned to be engaged by the end of the steering lever in different steering positions thereof.

3. A lifting truckcomprising a main frame having a steering head, an elevating frame mounted thereon, a steering lever pivoted to the steering head and having a rearwardly projecting end, and a tension link operatively connected to the elevating frame and engageable with the end of the steering lever, said link including an overhanging member having a transversely extending groove therein engageable with the end of the steering lever.

4. A lifting truck comprising a main frame having supporting and steering wheels, an elevating frame mounted on the main frame and movable vertically relative thereto, a vertically swinging steering lever, a tension link operatively connected to the elevating frame, said link being pivotally mounted to swing forwardly for engagement with the steering lever and to swing rearwardly out of operative engagement therewith, said link being provided with a transversely extending groove positioned to be engaged by the vertically swinging steering lever in any steering position thereof. 7

5. A lifting truck comprising a main frame having a swivelled steering head, an elevating frame mounted thereon, a steering lever pivoted to the steering head and having a rearwardly projecting vertically movable end terminating in a ball, and means for connecting said elevating frame to said steering lever to elevate the same comprising a link normally disconnected from said steering lever but having a transversely extending groove movable into position for engagement with said ball in any steering position of the swivelled steering head.

6. A lifting truck comprising a main frame, an elevating frame thereon, a steering lever pivotally mounted on said main frame and having an end portion positioned rearwardly of the pivotal mounting of said steering lever, and lever engaging means between said end portion and said elevating frame, independently movable with respect to said elevating frame and said end portion of the steering lever and presenting an under surface adapted for lateral sliding engagement with said end portion at different steering positions of said lever during frame elevating operation thereof.

7. A lifting truck comprising supporting wheels, a steering mechanism having a tongue mounted to swing vertically and provided with a lifting member having a free end, a load lifting platform, an inverted L shaped load lifting unit operatively connected therewith and having its horizontal portion extending over the free end of said lifting member and free from positive connection therewith, said unit presenting a comparatively large surface adapted for cooperation with said free end when the tongue is in any steering position, whereby vertical movement of said tongue acts vertically on said load lifting unit to elevate said platform.

8. A lifting truck comprising a mainframe, an elevating frame mounted thereon, a steering and lifting lever pivotally mounted on said main frame and having an extension moving integrally therewith and having a free end, an inverted L shaped load lifting unit operatively connected with said elevating frame and having its horizontal arm extending over the free end of said lifting lever extension and free from positive connection therewith, said horizontal arm presenting a surface adapted for sliding cooperation with said free end when the tongue is in any steering position, whereby verticalmovement of said tongue acts vertically on said load lifting unit to elevate said frame.

9. A lifting truck comprising a main frame, an elevating frame mounted thereon, a steering and lifting lever pivotally mounted on the main frame and having an extension moving integrally therewith and having a free end, a load lifting unit operatively connected with said elevating frame, and adapted to extend over the free end of said lifting lever extension, and free from positive connection therewith, means for moving said load lifting unit to its extended position, said unit presenting an under surface adapted for sliding cooperation with said free end when the tongue is in any steering position, whereby vertical movement of said tongue acts vertically on said load lifting unit to elevate the frame.

10. An elevating truck comprising supporting wheels and steering mechanism having a tongue mounted to swing vertically, a load lifting platform, a load lifting member operatively connected with said platform and adapted to elevate said platform when properly operated, a rigid end member movable with said steering lever and so mounted as to move substantially vertically and substantially in the steering axis of said truck, said load lifting member being arranged to extend over the steering axis of the truck and to move horizontally and vertically relatively to said axis during lifting movement and constructed to present a relatively large under surface to be engaged by said rigid end member when the steering tongue is in any steering position, and with the point of engagement varying slightly as the tongue occupies different steering and elevating positions, said rigid end and said lifting member being normally disengaged, the vertical movement of said steering tongue being adapted to cause said rigid end to engage and apply a vertical lifting force to said load lifting member to elevate said load lifting platform.

11. An elevating truck comprising supporting. wheels and steering mechanism having a steering and lifting tongue, a load lifting platform, a load lifting member formed as an integral inverted L and having its horizontal portion arranged so that it may extend over the steering, axis of said truck while its vertical portion is operatively connected to said elevating platform, a rigid end member movable with said steering lever and so mounted as to move substantially in the steering axis of the truck, the horizontal portion of said load lifting member presenting a relatively large under surface to be engaged by said rigid end member when the steering tongue is in any steering position, and with the point of engagement varying as the tongue occupies different steering and elevating positions, whereby downward vertical movement of said steering tongue will cause said rigid end to elevate said platform.

12. An elevating truck comprising supporting wheels and steering mechanism having a tongue pivotally mounted to swing vertically and provided with a lifting extension having a free end,

a load lifting platform, a lifting member connected to said platform and having a horizontally extending arm adapted to overlie the steering axis of the truck and the free end of said lifting llll lever extension, said free end being adapted to move in the path of the arc of a circle about its pivot, but substantially in the steering axis, said end being adapted to engage the under surface of the horizontally extending arm of said lifting llld member regardless of its steering position, and to slide relatively to said under surface while imparting a vertical lifting thrust thereto, whereby to elevate said load lifting platform.

13. A lifting truck comprising supporting wheels, a steering mechanism having a tongue mounted to swing vertically and provided with a lifting member having a free end, said free end being mounted to move in an arcuate path but substantially in the steering axis, a load lifting platform having a load lifting unit operatively connected therewith and extending over the free end of said lifting member and free from positive connection therewith, said load lifting unit and said load lifting platform being so mounted as to be capable of swinging forwardly and rearwardly in a longitudinal direction but being rigidly mounted against movement in a lateral or other direction, said load lifting unit presenting a relatively large surface to the free end of said lifting member so that said free end may slide relatively to said large surface as it moves in its arcuate path and applies a vertical thrust to said lifting member, the sliding movement being arranged to permit lifting of said platform by said lifting end 14 when it is in various steering positions, the sliding movement being increased as the lifting is done at increasing angularity of said steering lever relatively to a straight forward position thereof.

WILLIAM STUEBING, J R. 

